Tuesday, August 31, 1999 Published at 22:41 GMT 23:41 UKHealthWhiplash 'could cause Alzheimer's'The whiplash caused by car accidents could lead to Alzheimer'sResearch showing how sudden head movements - such as those caused by car accidents - can cause Alzheimer's Disease is helping scientists unlock the secrets of the illness.

However, experts at the Alzheimer's Disease Society in the UK said that while the results relating to whiplash-style injuries was expected, the research represented a real breakthrough by demonstrating a link between the injury and the first physical symptoms of the disease.

Dr Richard Harvey, director of research, said: "There are so many other good reasons that we should protect our heads. The brain is a sensitive organ which does not repair itself."

The researchers had found that damaged nerves secreted a substance called A-beta, which is known to help cause the future degeneration of brain tissue.

Search for vaccine

Dr Harvey said this was an "exciting" finding: "It's something that we believed happened, but this is the first study which has actually found that these chemicals are produced."

Other work on laboratory mice is already taking place to find ways to train the body's immune system to neutralise the chemicals which cause Alzheimer's.

This would open the door for a vaccination to protect younger people from a disease that might not manifest itself until much later in life.

Earlier studies have found that blows to the head can lead to Alzheimer's even decades afterwards, although minor injuries are not thought to cause it.